


Olly Olly Oxenfree

by lesducks



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Gen, Julie and the Phantoms/Oxenfree AU, Other, my self indulgent oxenfree au, no ships only friendships we die like found family enthusiasts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:29:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28939269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesducks/pseuds/lesducks
Summary: Julie Molina heads to Edwards Island for an overnight trip on an abandoned island with her best friend Reggie and recently met step-brother Alex. Instead of the big turnout they were expecting, only two other girls turn up.  What starts as an uneventful stay soon takes a turn for the supernatural, when strange happenings start occurring on the island.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. 88.3

**Author's Note:**

> The first part of an Oxenfree AU I came up with in a mad frenzy late at night. There will be ghosts, but not the ones we all know and love: they’re alive and maybe not-so-well in this story. For clarification to anyone who’s played Oxenfree, it’ll follow the basic plot but the ending will be tweaked. Anyone who hasn’t played it, enjoy the trip!

A boat floated through grey water, average in size but a tiny speck against the mountains that fringed the cove. The sun was slowly setting, covered by thick clouds, and a pale light shimmered on the waves. The ship’s deck consisted of an open space surrounded by waist-high railing, and a covered indoor section with seats and large, dirty windows that looked out over the ocean. Above, the captain’s compartment was occupied, although the captain hadn’t shown their face the entire journey. Julie Molina sat on one of the benches inside the lower area, the hood of her red hoodie pulled over her head, gazing out into the horizon.

“It used to be a military base! Well, it used to be a ranching thing, then it was turned into an army thing, then it became a bird thing, and a museum or whatever. Henry Fonda stationed here, I think, for a bit, unless he was Navy…” Julie’s best friend, Reggie, sat on a seat next to her, listing off an incoherent stream of facts about the island they were heading to.

“Who’s Henry Fonda?” Alex sat opposite Reggie and furrowed his brow, but Reggie didn’t hear the question and cut right through.

“Around Christmas time this little breakfast place used to sell these amazing polar bear sugar cookies. Man, those were good.” He grinned at the memory. “And then one year they changed the formula or whatever, and ruined it.” Reggie shrugged, then noticed Julie’s vacant stare and waved his hand in front of her eyes.  
“Mission control to Julie. You haven’t said anything for like ten minutes, you still with us?”

The three teenagers were the only people in the cabin, and Julie’s voice echoed as she turned her head and pulled down her hood. “Oh yeah, I’m still listening just… watching the waves at the same time.”

“Oh really? What did I say then, miss I Can See And Hear Things At The Same Time?”

“The cookies on Edwards Island are great?” Julie offered.

“Used to be great, but you passed.” Reggie put his hands behind his head and leaned back.

They sat in silence for a few moments until Reggie, unable to bear it, spoke up again.  
“So, Alex, you all moved in?”

“Um no not- not really, I just got in this morning,” Alex answered, the direct question a contrast to Reggie’s rambling he’d been getting used to.

“How did your mom meet her dad again?”

Alex gave a low laugh, “Ha. They met on vacation in Orlando? She got lost in a… you know, actually, I'm not even gonna tell this story. It's really not worth it.”

“She got lost in some gardens and he thought he worked there and… they hit it off, right?” Julie looked to Alex for confirmation.

He gave a small smile, “Yeah, that’s it.”

“And what does that make you to her then? A, uh, second cousin?” Reggie tipped his head to one side slightly as he thought, “I don’t know how people math works.”

“Step-brother,” Julie supplied.

“Ohhh, yeah! I forgot that was a thing for a second!” Reggie laughed, “And you guys just met tonight?” He looked between the two, mildly surprised.

“Yeah, I was, um… I'd been out of school and the timing had just never worked out, so…” Alex shrugged, shifting in his seat slightly to look out of the window.

“Well at least you seem cool, right? Cool guy, cool hat, you get a cool new sibling living right in your house.” Reggie gestured to Alex’s baseball cap and then in Julie’s general direction.

“Sharing your toothbrush… wearing your clothes… eating your food… smelling up your bathroom.” Reggie continued.

“Don’t be weird about it,” Julie gave him a playful shove.

“I, uh, have my own toothbrush.” Alex said, half-laughing, half-trying to assure Julie he was normal. He cleared his throat, “So… how do you two know each other?”

“Oh, from way back when, like Paleozoic. Grade school era. Young enough that I've seen  
her in a bathtub and it wasn't sexual at all.”

“Aaaah, Reggie, why would you even talk about that?!” Julie put her head in her hands.

“It’s humorous! I don’t know!”

They were interrupted by a crackling voice from the overhead speaker, “Passengers, we’ll be arriving soon. Check under your seat to make sure you don’t leave any personal belongings.”  
The voice had an eerie, old quality, like a 1920s radio host.  
Julie, Alex and Reggie rose from their seats, lifting bags and slipping coats on, the voice continuing above them.  
“And if you picked up a complimentary disposable radio, remember to tune it to 102.3 at the various plaques. We encourage you to listen to our Edwards Island Walking Tour, and hear more about the fascinating events of this historical landmark.”

As they left the room, Julie looked back at the captain overhead. She looked old and weathered, staring mindlessly ahead, and didn’t seem to be speaking into a mic.

“So, wait, who’s speaking right now?” Julie asked, puzzled.

“It’s a recording, they play it every trip!” Reggie answered, turning to lean against the railing at the bow of the boat. Julie and Alex came up beside him, and they all stared ahead at the fast approaching island, hair blowing in the wind.

“So, we’re staying the night?” Alex questioned.

“Yeah!” Reggie confirmed brightly, “No one lives on the island anymore, it’ll be fun!”

Julie inwardly shuddered at the thought of spending the night on an abandoned island, but didn’t want to look scared in front of the others.

“Oh, oh, we should get a quick picture, all of us. This’ll be like the before shot. ‘They’re on their way!’ Y’know?” Reggie excitedly pulled out his phone and swiped open the camera.

“Shouldn’t we wait till we get there, or at least meet up with the others?” Julie said, pulling her focus away from the view and looking at Reggie.

“No, no no this is the core unit.” Reggie pointed at himself, Alex and Julie, “The rest are like our guest stars.” He smiled.

Alex chuckled at the joke, and Reggie looked pleased with himself. He drew Alex in closer and positioned the phone so it got the shore of the island in the background.

“Julie, we’re not taking the pic until you get in here! I can wait all night. Well maybe not all night, but until the boat docks.”

Julie raised her eyebrow at Reggie but obliged, and, being smaller than the other two, balanced on her tiptoes between the boys so her head looked almost level with them. After the classic count of three, they all smiled as Reggie pressed the button. He looked happily down at it, taking in the image for a moment, before turning off his phone and sliding it away in his pocket. He looked up and turned to Julie.

“Hey, Julie, you brought a radio right? The little portable ones?”

“Oh yeah, give me a second,” Julie slid her bag off of her shoulder and started rifling through the contents before producing a tiny radio, a screen, two dials and an antenna.

Alex looked at the radio in slight awe, “That thing looks so old, does it even work?”

Reggie scoffed, “Of course it does! They’ve had them for years and one hasn’t failed us yet! Our high school has a radio station and Flynn - she's a friend of ours - is filling in because Nick got sick or something? It doesn't matter, what matters is that she's gonna say something like… basically right now about our thing, so turn it on!”

Julie flicked the on button and the radio sprang to life. Already tuned to a station, the radio crackled and started broadcasting a random news story.

_“-we spent 5 years studying the effects of 10 elementary schools in Yemhill County. When we compared them to that of Douglas, we saw-”_

“Tune it to 88.3!” Reggie gestured urgently, “If we miss it I’ll never hear the end of it!”

Julie fiddled with the dials and the notch on the screen scanned over the numbers until it reached 88.3.

After a few seconds of static, the noise from the radio came into focus.

_“Which I played cuz that song has been stuck in my head since I woke up this morning.”_

Flynn’s voice came from the speaker over the outro to a song.

_“But- oh, actually, it's a little after 8 o'clock! Which means my friend Reggie and his buddies are probably just touching down on Edwards Island for the yearly bash on the beach, or, whatever we call it now. But, anyways. I promised him that I’d play a song from his band so…”_

There was a pause while Flynn searched for the track.

_“Here is ‘Home Is Where My Horse Is’, by the Banjo Boys!”_

A soft country song played out of the radio, as Reggie closed his eyes contentedly. The melody continued for a minute or two as they stood on the ship’s deck, listening to Reggie sing along, but eventually the tune fizzled into static. Reggie cursed, disappointed.

“We must be getting close, there's no radio reception on the island. I'm glad we got to hear the song before it went totally kaput.”

“If we can't use it on the island, why'd you bring it?” Alex asked Reggie, confused.

“You'll see. Don't expect too much but…” He hesitated for a moment then shook his head, confirming an unspoken question to himself. “Nah, it'll be fun! You'll see.” Reggie nodded, but Alex was left just as confused as before. A worn out horn sounded from the ship, signalling their arrival. As they touched down on land, the sun had completely set, plunging the island into darkness.


	2. 102.3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Okay, speed-run definition of Edwards Island. This was a tourist trap with shops and a beach. Nobody lives here except for some geriatric named Mrs Adler. We are here strictly to be stupid.”

Water rippled below the pier, reflecting the harsh gleam of a street lamp. The entrance to the island was a long winding road, past a small street of grocery stores and tourist booths. Moths fluttered around flickering lights, creating small circles of light on the dark paving. 

As they stepped off the wooden boards, Julie, Alex and Reggie cast three shadows across an empty shop window. Reggie took an exaggerated breath in and spread out his arms.

“Smell that clean air, boys and girls. Boy and girl. This ain't city livin’!” 

“Were we ever ‘city livin’ in the first place?” Julie mocked her friend. 

“Well Alex certainly was,” Reggie retorted, “Unlike us humble small town folk.” 

“You sound like a bad western movie.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me!” Reggie placed a hand over his heart. Noticing Alex’s confused expression at the sight of the wannabe ghost town, Reggie snapped his fingers and gave a small flourish, 

“Okay, speed-run definition of Edwards Island. This is a tourist trap with shops and a beach. Nobody lives here except for some geriatric named Mrs. Adler,” Reggie paused to watch the ship putter out of the dock, then continued, “But with God as my witness, we’ll never mention her or any other old person’s name again. We are here strictly to be stupid, a tradition apparently started by bored recruits in the 1950s who would sneak dates over from the coastal towns.”

“That’s actually kinda funny,” Julie considered. 

“Yeah, it’s like kids at camp or whatever.” Reggie snickered, “All those soldiers just got bored and started acting like rebellious teens.” 

“Guess some things never change,” Alex noted, as they themselves were bored and being rebellious teens.

“So, to summarize... we are not allowed here after dark, the town is shut down, and we - the Camena High Junior Class - have come to commit improper acts.” Reggie rubbed his hands together with glee. 

“Wait, we’re not allowed here after dark? So, like, what’s our plan if we get caught?” Alex glanced around, worried that an adult might materialise out of nowhere. 

“We won’t! Our parents think we’re going on a class camping trip, which, if you think about it, we kind of are!” 

“Come on Reggie, that’s a stretch,” Julie huffed, but Reggie just shrugged it off.

Alex shook his head, “So, back up a second, who’s Mrs. Adler?” 

“Her family owns some of the island or something, she’s been living in the same spot for like seventy years. She’s kind of what you’d call a local legend, has a house on the other side of the woods.” 

“Must get lonely,” Julie murmured.

“Not if you have a special someone, I suppose,” Alex considered, “Living undisturbed with that certain person.” 

“If you say so,” Julie conceded. 

“Alright, my other friends should be up and around the bend!” Reggie pulled his bag up higher over his shoulder and started up the trail. “Let’s go, gang!” 

“Actually, that-“ Alex coughed awkwardly, “I mean, I don't mean to be the guy to break us up already, but Reggie can you do me a favor?” Alex took a breath in, “Can I have like two real quick minutes with Julie for a second? And, you can, you know- you can run up and meet your friends.” 

“Uh, really? Just… that’s kinda…” Reggie’s face fell, “You don’t want me to be here?” 

“It’ll take three minutes, tops,” Alex provided an apologetic smile.

“Alright, but,” Reggie looked around the empty street, suddenly aware of the creeping shadows, “Uh, look, I- I don't want to go up by myself. I mean, can't we just stick together? You're gonna have all night to say, like... whatever you want.” 

“We won’t be long Reggie, go on up ahead and we'll catch up with you.” Julie looked earnestly at her friend.

“Um... Okay. I guess. Though this is a really strange way to start off. Splitting up.”

“I’ll be fast, promise,” Alex put a hand on Reggie’s shoulder and patted it awkwardly, “Thanks, man.” 

“I’ll just be up the hill in case... whatever.” Reggie dejectedly walked a way up the slope, stopping just below the peak, out of earshot of Julie and Alex. 

Alex stared after Reggie for a moment then opened his mouth and turned to Julie, “Reggie seems nice. He's funny, you know? Reminds me of a guy I know back home.”

“Yeah, yeah he’s great,” Julie muttered distractedly, “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, right,” Alex cleared his throat and prepared himself, “Listen, I just wanted to grab you ahead of time and say you've been... cool.” Julie relaxed, happily surprised, as Alex continued, “About everything. And I guess it's just, for me, I've never moved anywhere and getting a new family at the same time kind of feels like I'm skipping the training wheels. Not that it's been bad or anything.” Alex spluttered quickly, “It’s just a big change. You and your dad have been great” 

Julie shrugged abashedly, “Yeah well, we make do. Life, lemons and lemonade. All that.” 

“Ah. You’re an optimist.” Alex said with a tinge of cynicism.

“Yeah, I am an optimist! And proud of it!” Julie protested, and the pair started laughing. 

“Anyways, thanks for setting up the attic for me. It’s cool, how it’s like a little bedroom.” Alex put his hands in his pockets and smiled shyly.

At this Julie’s eyes darkened slightly, and she withdrew, hunching her shoulders, “That was Carlos’ room. So, not much to actually set up.” 

“Oh.” Alex realised what she meant, “I’m sorry,”

Julie shook her head and forced a smile, “It’s okay. Let’s just, change the subject.”

Alex nodded, “Right,” he motioned at the view of the beach, “It’s nice at night.” 

“Yeah.”

An uncomfortable silence hummed in the air between them.

“I guess a brother-sister rapport takes time, huh,” Alex mused. 

“Yeah. Give it a couple weeks and we’ll be as close as any others.”

“Constantly fighting, just like all siblings.”

Julie laughed, then Alex looked over his shoulder, “We can catch up to Reggie now, I didn’t mean to take so long.”

Julie nodded, and the two of them followed the same path as Reggie, Alex waiting for Julie to go first and giving her a mock bow. 

“Oh, hiya kids, you’re back!” Reggie greeted them as they rounded the top of the hill, “Now we can all be best buddies again! Have some family bonding in the weirdo caves.”

Alex’s face grew concerned “Weirdo caves?”

“The whole reason Alex brought her radio is because when you go to the… it’s like, the front?”   
  


“The mouth?” Alex interjected.

“Right, the mouth of this particular cave, you can sometimes pick up frequencies to stations that don’t exist.” 

Alex gulped, suddenly aware of an uncomfortable feeling growing in his stomach. Reggie pressed ahead, taking on the voice of someone telling ghost stories round the campfire, “You’ll hear voices or just… sounds…” He left the words hanging in the air, “And they’re impossible to get anywhere else on the island. Crazy, right?”

“Yeah.” Alex’s voice seemed to pitch up two octaves, then he tried to lower it, “Crazy.”

“No way, c’mon.” Julie scoffed, having heard this tale way too many times. 

“Julie has always been a devout skeptic even though the 4th Grade field trip proved it without a shadow of a doubt.”

“I wasn’t even there! I couldn’t go, remember?”

“Oh how convenient for you!”

Julie shook her head firmly, “No, there has to be a logical explanation. Like, the rocks are messing with the frequencies or something.” 

“Or aliens.” Reggie finished. 

While Julie protested with more logical explanations, Alex wandered over to where an upright slab of stone had indiscernible words etched out into the side, covered with moss and rust.

“Hey, what’s this thing?” Alex called out to the others. Julie half-jogged over and looked over the structure. 

“Oh I forgot this was even here.” She spoke to herself as she waved a hand over the moss, trying to clear it, “It’s a monument to some submarine that sunk off the coast.” 

“Oh, do the radio guide thing they talked about on the boat, you know? It's what, 102.3? I just want to see how it works.” 

“Uh, okay, sure.” Julie pulled out the radio. 

“Really? A history lesson?” Reggie shifted from one foot to another, “We really should get to the others on the beach.” 

Julie ignored him and tuned the radio to 102.3. It crackled and spurted to life. 

“ _Named after the Hawaiian god of the sea, the USS Kanaloa was launched on January 15, 1941, and commissioned into service at the end of that year under the command of Lt. James Earl Clapman. On October 28, 1943, it was sunk by the Japanese sub chaser Tokisada, some 25 miles off the coast of Washington, and remains, to this day, the only submarine casualty in American waters. 85 officers, as well as 12 Army passengers, were lost. The propeller was recovered in 1962, and in 1965 erected as a monument to the heroism of the brave men and women who tragically perished.”_

“I’ve never heard of this before.” Alex spoke as the audio looped and started playing again “Kinda creepy, in a way, right? That this isn’t a bigger thing?” 

Julie softly agreed with him, then noticed Reggie’s restlessness, “We should get going to the beach now, huh?”

Reggie’s eyes brightened and he led the way up the rest of the pathway. He stopped when they reached a shabbily constructed fence, about six feet tall. 

“The beaten path officially ends here. The way to the beach is just past this fence.”

“Is there a gate or…?” Alex trailed off, searching along the fence for an entrance. 

“Nope!” Reggie exclaimed, and walked over to an old dumpster lying a couple of meters away from the fence. “Guys, help me push this thing,” He placed his hands on the side. 

Alex and Julie rushed over, and on ‘go!’ they all pushed until the dumpster wheeled over to touch the fence. 

“Ladies first,” Reggie stepped back and motioned for Julie to climb up. She pulled herself onto the top of the dumpster, then over the fence, yelping as she hit the floor and tried to rebalance herself. 

After all three had made it across, they scrambled down a steeper slope than before, the mud giving way to sand as they reached the bottom. There wasn’t much sound except a small whisper of laughter from further down the beach. 

“You said this was going to be a big beach bash?” Alex questioned Reggie, who looked slightly taken aback by the lack of students. 

“I thought it would be!” 

“Let’s just go and see who’s there,” Julie sighed. 

They trudged in silence towards the noise, and eventually rounded a corner. Two girls were sat against a small fire, one was dressed in a black jacket and pink shirt, animatedly talking. The other, in a purple hat, tracing patterns in the sand with a stick. 

Reggie sharply breathed in as he got caught against a shrub, causing the girls by the fire to look over.

“Reginald! I hear you over there!” 

Reggie winced then called out, “Hey guys!” He waved enthusiastically, then jumped as his hand collided with the branch again. 

“Carrie and Kayla? They’re seriously the only other people here?” Julie whispered at Reggie, who brushed her off and headed over to the fire. 

“Wait, I was saying… I was about to tell a story, what was it?” Carrie faced back to Kayla.

“About Willie’s car?”

“Oh, well, that can wait then.” Carrie raised her eyebrows as Reggie and Alex sat down. Julie remained standing, her arms crossed. 

“Who’s this?” Kayla asked, looking curiously at Alex.

“Hi! I’m Julie’s step-brother,” Alex stuck his hand out nervously, and he and Kayla shook hands awkwardly. Carrie scowled at Alex, not expecting to have to meet someone new. 

“You guys been here long?” Alex asked, trying to make conversation. 

Kayla opened her mouth to reply when a sudden gust of wind blew the fire out. Carrie shot up from her seat and let out an indignant cry as their efforts of the past hour were snuffed. 

“I guess this is happening now! This is a thing that is happening,” She fumed at the now useless fire pit, “So… where’s everyone else?”

“Luke had that tennis thing.” Reggie reminded her. 

“And? No one else is coming? It’s just you guys?” 

“We got the last boat across, we’re it,” Reggie explained. 

Carrie looked like she was going to make a scathing retort when Julie stepped in.

“Uh… who else was supposed to come?” She said, her voice taut. 

“Anyone? Everyone?” Carrie said, volume gradually rising. 

“There’s nobody else coming. We’re it.” Julie said firmly, narrowing her eyes. 

“Of course.” 

She sat back down on a wooden post a little further away from the rest of them. 

“Well this evening is off to a great start,” Reggie said, dripping with sarcasm. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s great being stuck on an island for the night when no one really wants to be there, right? I’m sure this could have absolutely no negative outcomes whatsoever! Anyways, if you made it through all of that, I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
